Lubricating system



Oct. 11, 1932.

G. w. HANSON LUBRICATING SYSTEM Filed Oct. 9, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 6050M Mum/v/mvso/v A TTORNE Y Oct. 11, 1932. 5. w. HANSON LUBRICATING SYSTEM Fi ied Oct. 9, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. GUJIAFMLL/A/V/fil NSO/V A TTORNE Y.

Oct. 11, 1932. G. w. HANSON LUBRICATING SYSTEM Filed Oct. 9, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 W, rllli V A TTORNE Y.

2Q determlned times.

I Patented Oct. 11, 1932 PATENT OFFICE GUSTAF W. HANSON, F WICHITA, KANSAS LUBRICATING SYSTEM 7 Application filed October 9,

My present invention relates to an improved lubricating system which while especially adapted for use in lubricating parts of the chassis of an automotive vehicle and herein illustrated for that purpose, is also applicable for use in lubricating parts of stationary power plants, etc. The lubricating system involves the use of a grease tankfrom which the grease is distributed under air pressure to a plurality of pneumatically operated grease pumps, and by means of the several pumps a predetermined quantity or charge of grease is injected to each of the several bearings.

A control valve is provided for the pneumatic pressure utilized in the lubricating system and this valve may either be manually operated at desired times, or-it may be automatically and mechanically operated at pre- When'the system is used for lubricating bearings of a stationary power plant or machine, a time controlled mechanism may be employed to automatically actuate the control valve at predetermined intervals of time for lubricating parts of the plant or machine. When used on an automotivevehiclethe control valve may be operated from a suitable accessory of the vehicle, as for instance, a speedometer, by means of 71,30 which the valve may be actuated once forevery fifty miles of travel to lubricate the bearings and other parts of the vehicle. The invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts involved'in the lubricating system as will be hereinafter I more fully described and claimed.

In theaccompanying drawings, I have illustrated one complete example of the physi-V cal-embodiment of my invention adapted to Q, lubricate parts of the chassis of an automo- I tive vehicle, in which the parts are combined and arranged according to the best mode I have so far devised for the practical application of the principles of my invention. Changes and alterations within the scope of w my claims may be made in the exemplified structure. as for instance, a. modified arrangement of the grease pumps with relation to the grease tank as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, may 33 be made. These and other changes and 1926. Serial No. 140,505.

alterations are contemplated without depart ing from the principles of my invention.

' Figure 1 is a plan view showing an automotive vehicle chassis equipped with a lubricating system ofmy invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail sectional View at line 22 of Fig. 1 showing one of the greasepumps and flexible connections;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional View of one of the grease pipe joints and showing 66 also a check valve located near a bearing to be lubricated;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the grease pumps containing a charge of grease with the parts in neutral position and not under air pressure;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of a portion of the pump of Fig. 4 with the pump parts in discharging position for injecting the charge to a bearing;

Figs. 6 and 7 are plan views of perforated partitions or discs used in the pumps;

Fig. 8 is a view showing a modified a1 rangement of the distribution of grease, with N the grease pumps clustered around and directly connected with a grease tank, the parts being shown in section as atline 88 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 9 is a partial top plan and partial section at line 99 of Fig. 8, showing the grease tank and pumps;

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view at line 10-10 of Fig. 11 showing the manually controlled valve for the air pressure, together with a mechanically or power actuated device for alternate use;

Fig. 11 is a horizontal sectional view at line 11-11 of Fig. 10 showing also the instrument board of an automobile; and

Fig. 12 is a face view of the manually operated knob, indicator, and dial for the control valve. I

In order that the general assembly and relation of parts may readily be understood, I have shown in Fig. 1 a conventional form of automobile chassis including the side bars 1 and 2, and the instrument board indicated as 3. a In front of theinstrument board at one side of the chassis is located an air reservoir 4 which is properly supported. and

adapted to receive compressed air. This air reservoir may be filled at a gasol ne statlon or garage in manner similar to filling the tires of the vehlcle, and an airgauge 1s shown on the instrument board to indicate the pres- At the opposite side of the chassis, a grease or lubr cating sure within this reservoir.

tank 6 is supported and provided with usual inlet opening for filling with a suitable lubricant or grease. The grease in the grease tank 6 is placed under air pressure by 'means -of an air pipe? extending from the air reservoir 4: into the toprot the grease tank. Thefrom the reservoir .4

mechanism indicated as' a site sides of-the chassisas indicatedjin Fig.

the brackets and extending the chassis as shown, in y T to these distributing. bracketsil l and 15, I 19constructed in man use brackets as 18 and i one means of thejnut 24, and threaded provided with one or, more grease 2. The air line is connected to a conduit 16 and thegrease line 9 ,is connected to a-con-' duit 17, these conduits being formedwithin longitudinally of Fig. l. Tnaddition ner similar to the brackets 1a and 15, but of smaller size and capacity Each} one a of the distributing brackets; is

pumps 1ndicated as a whole by the numeral 20, and grease pipes 21 and air-pipes distributing bracket, to another to provide the necessary lubricant and air pressure *for "operating theivarious pumps provided'for the bearings locatedat various placesabout thetautoinobile chassis, as indi- I I I r r clo sed and that it is removed from its seat cated in Fig. 1.

" As best, seen lnF a nozzle 23 which is coupled to the bracket'by to the-boss 25 of the cylinder 260i the pump. 7 The cylin nipple 23, and thegrease passes through port-s valve 29, within the cylinder. This tubular valve is adapted to slide in the cylinder 26 and control the admission of fgrease groove 27'. The tubular valve 1s fashioned 1 pressure V,

This charge of grease in the tubular valve is ejected therefrom to a lubricating pipe as der is provlded with an interior annular groove 27 for the grease passing through the 28 in: the tubular through its ports28 from the annular with a reduced extension 3G and a spring normally holds it to its seat in neutral posl- 7 tion as shown in Fig l." Inthisafigure, the

with grease causedijto' flow thereto by air from the grease tank 6.

32 by means of air pressure from theair conpip-e1O and then through the the numeral 11 in Fig, 1, to airair of the valve.

than these brackets.

22 extend from V I 4-,rthepumps are sup-- plied with grease from the conduit 17 through to be iilled duit 16 of the distributing bracket flowing through the air pipe 33. This pipe 33in each instance as shown in Fig. 1', extends from the air conduit of a distributing bracket to a pump as 20 and the pipe 33"is c0nnectediby' a coupling sleeve 34 to the head 35 of thepump. Within the tubular valve head 35 impinges againstthe abutment 3'7 of the tubular valve andthepiston 36. This pressure moves the tubul'ar'valve against its spring 31 to close'the ports 28 in the valve thus cutting cit entrance of grease to the pump. The air pressure alsomoves the piston 36 which performs the function of an in.- jector to forcethe charge of grease into pipe 32. The piston is moved against the tension ofitsspring'38 which springbears against thejperforated disc 39, which disc issupported upon a shoulder 40' in the extension The extension 30 is fashioned with avalve seat 41 and-washer421to' accommodate the dischargegrease valve 43, which is carried by the extension 30.1 This valve has a-stem 4A and aspring45 interposedbetween the I valve 4E3 and the partition 39., and the free end of thestem 4:4; is adapted-to engagethe partition 46. This partition is in the form ofa perforated washer which is secured in the open end of the cylinder by means of the small cylinder head 47, and the grease pipe 32 is connect-ed to this'head by means ofv a coupling 48. It will be seen in Figs. 4c and 5 that the discharge valve a3 is normally when air pressure is applied to the abutment 37 and inJect r piston 36 As the piston and tubular'valve aretogether moved under air pressure; in the cylinder 26, -the discharge valve 43 remains stationary while its seat/ti is moved'with relation to the: valve to provide an opening asindicated inFig. 5 for the grease to pass through from the pump or injector to-the cylinder head 4? and lubricatine pipe32. i' r r r I i y In Fig. 3, the lubricatingpipe32 is shown with a coupling/l9 which is provided with a niachine'd fit or joint for thel'pipe '32 and isthreaded to an elbow 50. The elbow is, connectedby nipple 51/00 the bearing head 52, and a sprinjg pressed checlrval-ve '53 of sufiicient power is provided to retain the iii grease infthe pipe 32 and, prevent reverse 7 movement of the grease that is supplied to the bearing through the head 52' In 5, the valve 7 ports 23, andinjector piston 36' has ejected has closed its grease .the air pressure on valve 29 and injector piston 36 is released, the

contracted springs 31 and 38 automatically return the valve and piston to normal position and the interior of the valve and piston are recharged with a supply of grease through the groove 27 and ports28. The tubular valve returns to normal position and releases valve 43 to its seat4l. I

The bearings to be lubricated are provided with standard types of oil or grease cups of which parts are shown in Fig. The grease pipes 32 may have soldered oints or machined joints, as required, for rendering the.

lubricating system air tight and liquid tight, and the necessary flexibility is provldedfor in the grease pipes 32 and their connectlons to prevent breaking of the connections, and

compensate for movement between the sprungand unsprung parts of the automoti e vehicle. 5

The joints of the tubular connections pipingbetween the air reservoir a, grease tank 6, and control means indicated at 11 in Fig. 1, may be sealed with hard solder to prevent leakage, while joints in other parts of the service pipes may be machined. When the chassis of an automobile is to be lubricated to prevent any loss of air pressure through these machined joints, or other f joints, ahydraulic expansion chamber 12 "may be provided and filled with a light oil.

This chamber has a capacity equal to the displacement of the piston ejectors in the pump cylinders, and is located between the control mechanism and the distributing points of the lubricating system so that hydraulic and pneumatic pressure may be transmitted to the grease for lubricating the bearings. To test and close air leaks in the lubricating system .;...with the service air lines and chamber 12' "filled with the light oil, air pressure is turned 011 and the pressure forces oil out of any leaky joints, thus disclosing the leaky connection in order that the defect may be ren1e- 1 died.

Thus as the movement and vibration of an automobile tends to loosen all mechanical joints or said joints in the lubricating system and thus decrease its efiiciency, the

'- -test may be applied as described to ascertain the condition of the joints and to remedy or piping is used.

The operation of'the grease pumps may i be accomplished either manually from the instrument board 3 of the automobile, or automatically from an operating part of the automobile. A duplex valve mechanism is provided at '11 which controls admission of air under pressure from the reservoir 4 to the several pumps 20, to operate them, and this mechanism 11 also releases the air from the pumps in order that the latter may be recharged after the pumps have been operated.

in Fig. 12, a rotary knob or handle 54 is fixed to the shaft 55 journaled in a sleeve 56 which is supported in the instrument board 3 of the automobile, and a pointer 57 on the rotary knob coacts with spaced legends such as Neutral, Lubricate, and Recharge on the dial plate 58, for use in manually operating the lubricating system.

The duplex valve mechanism including theoperating shaft 55 is: provided with a cam lug 59 adapted to alternately coact with the duplex valve devices for controlling the pneumatic operation of the pumps. These i duplex valves, which are normally closed. are used one for applying pressure to and operating the pumps, and the other for reeasing air pressure from the pumps to permit recharging of the pumps with grease, are supported in a cylindrical casing 60 which is integral with the bracket 61 and bearing sleeve 56. The cylinder or casing 60 is located in front of theinstrument board 3 and supported therefrom. The shaft 55 projects transversely through the cylinder, and this lug or cam 59 is adapted to turn clockwise for coaction with the two opposed piston plungers 62 and 63. These plungers are normally held in contact with the shaft 55 by their springs 64, and the stems 65 on these piston plungers are adapted to operate the pneumatic valve devices 66 and 67. The device 66 is located in a nipple 68 which is located between reservoir 4, and this valve device 66 controls passage of compressed air from the reservoir to the pumps. The cylinder 60 is provided with an elbow'69 and nut 70 couples this elbow with air pipe 71 which latter pipe is connected toa T head 72, and this T head is connected by pipe 73 to the expansion chamber 12. The T head 72 is connected at one end of the cylinder 60, and the valve device 67 of the T head. The piston plunger 63 is provided with a stem and head similar to the piston plunger 62, and it also is provided with a spring similar to spring 64. At 75 the cylinder is provided with an exhaust or make similar to the valve insides used on the air valves of pneumatic wheel tires. When, the pumps are to be operated, the shaft 55 is turned clockwise causing cam 59 to engage piston plunger 62. The plunger is moved to the left in Fig. 10 causing it to pipe 10 extending from the 1 is located in the arm Tet I a 10. Thisactionopens V Afterventing,

rated by the: arrows througlr V the pump Contact with" the valvedevice 66 'andthisaction permits air pressure toflow as indithe left end of the cylinder andainto the air: pi e 71 and? froln said pipe through pipe 7 3 to'the ex p'ansijon chamber Thepumpsiare: oper atcd by' the air pressure as heretofore described; After thepumps have-been operated', it is necessary torelease the air pressure in order that the pumps may be recharged with grease. When the shaft 55 i-sturn-edlto release its cam 59 from the piston plunger 62',- the latter is retraeted by' its spring 64%,: and the valve device 66 is closed to prevent fur-- ther flow of air pressure therethroughai The cam 59 is nowtu'rne'l to" contact with and push piston plunger 63 w the right in Fig. g V K the closed valve de-' vice (SLand the interior of the air pipes an air pumps are vented through the ports75, as indicated by dotted arrows in FigL I-O;

the 59 is turned to permit thepiston plunger'63 to release the valve device 67, The knob-t4: is now turned to theneutral position the pumps are recharged with a Supply of grease from the grease tank 6, after which the knob 54 is, turned to neutral position leaving the lubrieating system in condition to be again oper ated' when necessary In some instances the shaft 55 turned. automatica lly and" mechanically. For in stance,- a flexibleshaft 76 may be geared to the speedometer of an automobile in such manner that the shaft 55 may be revolved once'for every fifty miles as indicated by the speedometer. This flexible shaft 7 6 is provided with a worm screw 77 located the housing 78 Which'is preferably integral with the cylinder 60, and the worm gear 7'7 engages with a worm gear 79 ona clutch shaft 80 which latter shaft is a continuation of the shaft 55 andprovided with a spring pressed clutch 81, the spring being designated 82' and located within the housing 78. This construction permits the manual control of operating mechanism through the use of the knob 54,whereby the clutehperforms the funotion of a ratchet and. the clutch 81 also permits the shaft 55 to be revolved from the speedometer or from any other suitable rotating accessory of the automobile, the automatic operation of the system is thus indicated by movement of the knob. I In Figs. 8 and 9, I have shown a centralized arrangement of the grease pumps 83. In these figures, the pumps 83 are clustered about the grease tank 7 84, and thecone shaped" bottom 85 of the tank is connect-ed by ports naaaaea nectiona89, andthe t'ankinay be filled with;

grease afterremoving the plug Havmg thus fully describedmy inventlon;

what I claim as new and de's-ireto secure by Letterslatent, is-:

for vehicle'chassis bearings including a conr' pressed air reservoir and a grease supply tankconnected therewith, of *aplurality of dis-' tributin-g supportshaving airand grease conduits therein located at various places on the chassis, plurality of pneumatic injector pumps supported from said distributing supports, conduits leading from the air reservoir and grease tank to the'pumps means for said pumps whereby ter'nately charged, anddischarged to grease said bearings." 7 r 2. In alubricating svst'em'involv'ing a plu--' ra-lity of pneumatic injector pumpseach com prising a cylinder having an inlet for compressed 'air and an outlet. for gre'ase under pressure, said diate grease inlet, a tubularsl-ide valve within the cylinder having grease inletportsand a grease outlet valve carried by said slide valve, and a relatively movable injector piston within the tubular valves 1 GUSTAF w. Hanson and control they are alf-i cylinder having: an inter ine 1 The combination ina lubricating system :70

Ill

86 with tne several pumps 83. A circular air pipe 8? is connected with the ends 'of the pumps 83,- and air underpressure is supplied thereto through pipe 88. Air under pressure is supplied to the tank 8 1 through the con- 

